DAYTON, Ohio (November 4, 2022)
 
 In Short
After climbing back twice to even the match, Loyola University Chicago (20-8, 14-1 A-10) came up just short at Dayton (16-12, 10-5 A-10) Friday night, 25-21, 16-25, 27-25, 13-25, 15-12, in a thrilling five-setter. Karlie McNabb led with 15 kills, 10 digs, and four aces, while Addie Barnes and Taylor Venuto each tallied 11 kills to reach double digits. With the setback, Loyola had its program-record win streak snapped at 14.
 
How It Happened
McNabb took over in the fourth set to lead a vehement Loyola response to falling in a narrow 27-25 defeat in the third stanza. With Loyola leading 14-8 in the fourth, McNabb sparked a 6-0 run with three aces and a kill as the Ramblers cruised with 11 of the final 16 points and hit .462 as a team in the frame.
 
Loyola grabbed the opening point in the deciding fifth set on Venuto's 10th kill, but the Ramblers never led again as the teams traded momentum swings. Dayton claimed a 3-1 lead with three straight points and forced Loyola to regroup with a timeout, and the Ramblers responded like they did all night, clawing back to even the score on three more occasions, 4-4, 6-6, 9-9, as the two sides traded blows. After Dayton used a 4-0 run to take a 13-9 lead, Loyola pulled back within two but couldn't close the gap.
 
In a sign of things to come, McNabb opened the match with a kill and got things started in a tightly contested first set. Neither team led by more than two in the first set as an ace from Barnes tied it up at 19-19, until Dayton closed the opener on a 6-2 run for the 25-21 victory.
 
The second set was all Loyola after racing out to a 10-3 lead on the first of two Madi Corey aces. The lead swelled to 21-8 after four unanswered points scored by Loyola. The Flyers made things interesting for a moment, but the Ramblers closed on a strong note with three consecutive points including the set point on Corey's second ace.
 
In the third, Loyola was in the driver's seat after it overcame a four-point deficit to move ahead 19-17 following a kill from Banitt. The Ramblers would stay in front with a 22-20 advantage and worked its way to a set-point opportunity at 24-22 but couldn't slam the door. Another McNabb kill put Loyola ahead 25-24, but the Flyers were able to grab the final three points for the set victory.
 
Looking At The Numbers

• Loyola played its fifth five-set match (1-4), all on the road, and second in conference play this season
• Loyola outhit Dayton overall in the match, .230 to .205
• McNabb tied her career high with four aces for third time this season. She also logged her fourth double-double
• Bree Borum recorded her fourth straight double-double with 25 assists, 14 digs and four aces
• Emily Banitt nearly posted a double-double with nine kills and eight digs. Her digs total is her highest in league play and second-most on the season
• Grace Hinchman collected a team-high 16 digs with eight assists
• Barnes and Venuto each reached double digits in the kills column for the second time in league play
• Kelsey Watson (7 kills) and Anna Feldkamp (6 kills) were efficient, hitting .429 and .400, respectively
• Dayton's Lexi Almodovar led the hosts with 18 kills

 
Up Next
Loyola and Dayton will meet again on Saturday afternoon with a 3 p.m. CT first serve at Frericks Center.